World Agriculture Directory: the home of the world's largest agriculture database. Fastest way to find events, farms and agribusiness that suit your needs. Agriculture Event Directory

Cattlemen Hall of FameBeef cattle barons, cowboys, breeders and builders from around the world

Cattle Barons and Land Owners

Gerald Timmerman: From Texas Cowboy to Multi-State Feedyard Operator

Gerald Timmerman and his brothers bought a Springfield, Nebraska feedyard from their father and worked it into a multi-state beef business.

Who is Gerald Timmerman?

Gerald Timmerman, born in 1940, is a Nebraska cattle feeder and rancher who grew up in Springfield, Nebraska, and spent most of his working life in the family feedyard business. The National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum inducted him into its Hall of Great Westerners in 2022, and the industry's Feeding Quality Forum gave him its Industry Achievement Award in 2018.

The two honors point to the same career: a man who started as a ranch hand, helped build a feeding business with his brothers, and kept his eye on what consumers wanted from beef. This profile sticks to the public professional record.

From a Texas cowboy to the family feedyard

According to the museum, Timmerman left school early to work as a cowboy in Texas. Back in Nebraska, in his late twenties, he and his brothers took over the family feedyard in Springfield without financial help from their father.

The High Plains Journal adds that Gerald was the oldest of four brothers raised around the feedyard, and that their father, Leo, sold the operation to his sons rather than giving it to them. The article says Leo's sons treated the purchase as a business deal and built the yard with hard work and a plain business plan.

The Timmerman feeding family

A University of Nebraska article about a gift to the school's feedyard management program offers more background on the family's roots. It describes Leo Timmerman buying cattle at 14 and selling them at the Omaha stockyards. He and his wife Irene married in 1936, and Irene's uncle, a banker, loaned them money to buy six cows. They later bought 25 more.

The same University of Nebraska article on the Timmerman gift reports that the Timmerman operations eventually included three feedyards in Nebraska, six in Colorado and one in Kansas, plus ranches in Nebraska, Colorado, Oregon and Texas. Irene died in 1992 and Leo in 1997. Leo was inducted into the Cattle Feeders Hall of Fame in 2013 after his death. The article is about Norman Timmerman's gift, and while the High Plains Journal names Leo as the father in Gerald's family, neither source spells out every family link, so readers should treat the connection as likely rather than fully documented.

How the brothers ran the business

The High Plains Journal article on the Feeding Quality Forum award describes the brothers' management style in plain terms: no hierarchy or titles, no company vehicles and no bonuses. For about ten years they worked seven days a week without a day off and drew only a salary.

Today, the same article says, the brothers and their sons run independent operations and joint ventures. These include ranches in Nebraska, South Dakota, Colorado and Texas, feedyards in three states and interests in other beef industry enterprises. The sources do not give feedyard capacities or head counts, so the scale is best described by the number of states and operations.

The Key to Timmerman's Success

Reading the museum and trade-press accounts together, a few practices stand out. They are habits of operation, not secrets, and they came with real cost: a decade of seven-day weeks.

The sources are silent on debt levels, margins and any setbacks, so no lesson on finances can be drawn from them.

  • Buy the business, not the gift. The brothers purchased the yard from their father and built it without family financial help, according to the museum and trade press.
  • Work first, spend later. They drew only salary for about ten years and ran with no titles, company vehicles or bonuses.
  • Spread across regions. The operation now holds ranches in four states and feedyards in three.
  • Put the consumer first. Past award winners nominated him for his longtime focus on what the beef buyer wants.
  • Back a quality brand. He credits Certified Angus Beef for pushing cattlemen toward consistent, high-quality product.
  • Adopt new tools. He credits mentors and new technology and uses drones and satellites to improve ranch efficiency.

Honors and learning more

The Feeding Quality Forum, held in Sioux City, Iowa, presented Timmerman its 2018 Industry Achievement Award. The museum's Hall of Great Westerners entry for Gerald Timmerman records his 2022 induction and notes that he credits mentors and technology for the growth of the business.

To follow how feedyards, ranches and beef marketing fit together today, the farm.FM ranching section covers current industry stories, and a farm.FM story on cattle feeding adds a closer look at the feeding side of the business.

Timeline

  1. 1936Leo and Irene Timmerman marry; start with six cows (University of Nebraska article)
  2. 1940Gerald Timmerman born in Nebraska
  3. 1992Irene Timmerman dies
  4. 1997Leo Timmerman dies
  5. 2013Leo Timmerman inducted into the Cattle Feeders Hall of Fame
  6. 2018Gerald Timmerman receives the Feeding Quality Forum Industry Achievement Award
  7. 2022Inducted into the Hall of Great Westerners

Frequently asked questions

Who is Gerald Timmerman?

Gerald Timmerman, born in 1940 in Nebraska, is a cattle feeder and rancher who, with his brothers, built the Springfield, Nebraska family feedyard into a multi-state beef business. He entered the Hall of Great Westerners in 2022.

What is Gerald Timmerman known for?

He is known for taking over the family feedyard with his brothers in his late twenties, a consumer-first approach to beef, and operations spanning ranches in Nebraska, South Dakota, Colorado and Texas.

What award did Gerald Timmerman win in 2018?

He received the Feeding Quality Forum Industry Achievement Award, presented at the forum in Sioux City, Iowa, after past winners nominated him for his longtime focus on the consumer.

When was Gerald Timmerman inducted into the Hall of Great Westerners?

The National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum inducted him in 2022.

Sources and further reading

Profiles are compiled from public sources and reviewed against them. See our editorial policy to suggest a correction.

More from the hall